Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Book Blitz: The Body Institute

Description

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over
another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body—leaving her
client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…

For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once
she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with
the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she
has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s
all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…

Suddenly, residual memories from her Loaner are cropping up in Morgan’s mind.
She’s feeling less like herself and more like someone else. And when protests
from an anti–Body Institute organization threaten her safety, she’ll have to
decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul…

About
the Author

I'm
a YA writer represented by Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary. My sci-fi
novel THE BODY INSTITUTE explores the themes of society, identity, and body
image. I live in the beautiful, green state of Oregon and have a Studio Arts
degree; I'm an SCBWI member.

You'll usually find me in my writing cave, surrounded by my dragon collection
and the characters in my head. I also enjoy reading--mostly young adult
novels--as well as drawing, painting, and quilting. I also attend writing
conferences, walk with my husband, and enjoy music and dance of all kinds.

Author Links:

Fun Facts About Writing The Body Institute

1. BOYFRIEND NO MORE. The main
character, Morgan Dey, used to have a boyfriend named Aaron in the beginning of
the novel—until 8 months before the book was published. He got slashed by
Carol’s Entangled Teen editor. In the original version, Morgan broke up with
him by walloping him in virtual paintball.

2. BEST FRIEND TWEAK. Morgan’s best
friend, Blair McClure, was called Bunny in the first drafts. Blair sounds more
serious and fits her better, now that she’s Morgan’s science-minded friend.

3. TITLE CHANGE. The previous
title of THE BODY INSTITUTE used to be SHAPERS. This was changed by Strange Chemistry
when the book was under contract with them, before they went out of business
and Entangled Teen picked up the book. ET liked the new title and kept it.

4. EVEN EARLIER TITLES. Back in 1990
when the novel was just an idea, the working title was FARRADAY’S FAT FARM. In
2010 when Carol started the actual writing, this morphed into EMRT.
(Electromagnetic Resonance Transfer—the process of downloading one person’s
brainmap into another person’s body.) An
editor at an SCBWI conference wisely suggested that Carol change this to
SHAPERS. (Now the body-swapping process is more simply called ERT, which is
more reader-friendly.)

5. INSTITUTE WORKERS. When the book
was called SHAPERS, the weight loss was performed by workers called Shapers,
instead of being called Reducers as they are now.

6. AVATARS NO MORE. In early
versions, Morgan had a holographic princess warrior avatar that popped up on
her phone; she used this instead of the texts and voice-to-text that appear in
the final version of the book. Bunny communicated using a (duh) bunny avatar,
and Krista used a slinky clown. Morgan’s ex-boyfriend Aaron was a troll.